On 6/1/07, The Mangoe <the.mangoe(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Of course, the question is "respected by whom"? And is that respect
actually worth anything? I'm seeing a lot of RfC and AN/I cases where
people weigh in with comments along the lines of "X is a highly
respected editor", implying "and therefore can do no wrong."
Meanwhile, on the "attack sites" issue we seem to have two (for lack
of a better word) camps whose members don't necessarily have a lot of
respect for each other (or maybe they do, but it isn't figuring in the
argument), but within each camp there is a lot of respect among the
members.
Yeah, the respect isn't really worth much--but, since there is none. Still,
I got a note a while ago from a scientist who had read my edits on an
article and thanked me for making such a, something like responsible
contribution to understanding the subject. People do notice, and it is good
for the ego. I took an art class on a new technique a while ago and got a
lot of praise from the instructor for the originality of my work (original,
unique and the like is pretty high praise from other artists). Although I
am an artist, not a student, and I know my work is unique, it was still good
for my ego. Respect wouldn't hurt, like acknowledging that established
editors are every bit as valuable to the project as penis writing vandals.
The attack sites issue is a difficult one, because until you've been stalked
you can't really imagine what it is like, and once you've been stalked you
can't really communicate from a rational perspective on the topic. I was
stalked, not on the web, in real life, by an obsessed, well, fan--for lack
of a better word. It was offensive, to say the least, that someone I didn't
know and couldn't give a shit about, had such a pathetic life that they felt
it gave them a right to do anything to make me part of their life. It
consumed eons of my time. It interfered with my family, my work,
everything. And, ultimately, the most offensive thing about it was IT HAD
NOTHING TO DO WITH ME! It is fairly enraging to be the victim of something
that isn't even about you.
I don't know how to get those who have never been stalked and those who have
been stalked to understand each other, and communicate about how to protect
the latter from continuing to be victimized by their stalkers. For one
thing, most people who have been stalked, imo, have the right to all the
outrage they feel, and, especially if it is recent or ongoing, I have no
intention of ever expecting better of them in their response to anything
that could possibly give the perpetrators a platform. And this is what these
attack sites amount to, just another means of allowing the criminal to gain
access to their victim, when, again, it has nothing to do with the victim.
So, when the discussion comes to linking to attack sites you may have one
person saying, "Well there may be some instances when an attack site is
notable," in response to another person saying, "Stop giving my attacker
more platforms from which to machine gun me." The second person is
meanwhile ducking for cover, while the first may be trying to reasonably
discuss the issue. I don't think it's going to amount for any flowthrough
of respect.
My brother suggested I get a t-shirt that says, "Stalked--been there, done
that, find someone else."
KP